Page 585 | Good Times

Things To Do in Santa Cruz: Sept. 16-22

GT Staff

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September 16, 2020

Because many in-person events across Santa Cruz County have been canceled or postponed during the pandemic, Good Times is compiling a weekly list of virtual events hosted by local nonprofits, artists, fitness instructors and businesses. To submit your virtual event, send an email to ca******@*******es.sc.

ARTS AND MUSIC

TOP DOG SCREENING We are excited to announce a Virtual Screening of Top Dog. The Top Dog Film Festival was launched in 2017 to showcase the incredible bond between dogs and their people through independent films. Touring annually, the Top Dog Film Festival screens over two hours of the most inspirational, heartwarming and entertaining films related to dogs and their human companions from independent filmmakers around the globe. Including a carefully curated selection of films of varying lengths and styles covering topics relevant to dogs and dog lovers. A portion of ticket sales benefits Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter. Sponsored by Pacific Paw, Santa Cruz Waves, Pet Pals and Community Mobile Vet, Dr. Hannah Good, D.V.M., and Santa Cruz Film Festival. Sept. 20-25. Learn more at riotheatre.com/events-2/2020/9/12/top-dog-film-festival.

WEST CLIFF OUTDOOR MARKET Enjoy a socially distanced outdoor market with unique artisans and food trucks while taking in the spectacular view of the ocean. This market will be held in two parking lots along West Cliff Drive. This is always a popular spot for locals and tourists, as it overlooks the famous Steamer Lane surf spot. The market will feature one-of-a-kind gifts and a chance to see many vendors for the first time this year. The market will follow all social distancing guidelines and all vendors and attendees will be wearing face masks. Please come and join us and enjoy this outdoor shopping experience! Saturday, Sept. 19, 10am-6pm.

CLASSES

HEALTHY HABITS FOR GROWING OLD GRACEFULLY Tired all the time? Don’t have the energy you used to? Come to this class to learn how to maintain your vitality and strength while growing older. Science is now proving that lifestyle choices can be as important as genetics when it comes to aging well. This class will focus on building healthy habits and a few key principles that can give you a boost as you age and improve quality of life. This class is part of the Personal Enrichment Program (PEP) of Dignity Health. Marianne Benforado is a licensed acupuncturist with a passion for supporting people on all levels—body, mind, and spirit. She loves to teach and share what she knows. Her intention is always to give people tools they can use at home. It’s the day-to-day choices that have the greatest impact on our health. Pre-registration required. Call the PEP office at 844-585-3377 or learn more online: dignityhealth.org/bayarea/locations/dominican. Thursday, Sept. 17, 10am.

TECH TALKS: ANDROID 101 Ready for a review of the basic features and settings of your Android? We will share our favorite features and tips. We hope you will join us and share with us, too. Thursday, Sept. 17, 11am. Register at: santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/7049326. If you are new to using Zoom, please check out our webpage about using Zoom here: santacruzpl.org/digitallearning/?display=using-zoom.

65-HOUR TRAINING Community members may participate in a Monarch Services virtual training to become California state-certified peer counselors for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking. The training will be held through Oct. 14 during these times: Mondays 1pm-3:30pm, Wednesdays 1pm-3:30pm, Thursdays 1pm-3:30pm. Register by emailing al********@********cc.org.

NAMI FAMILY-TO-FAMILY CLASS NAMI’s Family-to-Family Class is an eight-week educational program for family and friends of adults with mental health challenges. Learn about how to support your loved one, gain valuable communication and coping skills, and become educated on the latest mental health research. Class is led by two trained volunteers with lived experience caring for someone with mental health conditions. Sign up online and learn more at namiscc.org/family-to-family.html. Mondays and Wednesdays at 6pm.

CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION WEEKEND EXPRESS CLASS This Saturday and Sunday virtual class from Dominican Hospital is intended for expectant mothers and their labor support team. Focus will be on the birth process, including the stages of labor and when to go to the hospital. Non-pharmaceutical coping techniques for pain, including breath work, mindfulness practices, supportive touch and positions for labor and birth, along with standard hospital procedures, pain medication options, medical interventions, cesarean birth, postpartum recovery, newborn procedures and breastfeeding basics. In this class, we will actively practice positions and coping techniques for pain, so please be dressed for movement. Please register for the PEP class session. Only after you have completed this process, the Zoom meeting information will be provided to you via email prior to your class. Classes run 1-5:30pm on these days: Sept. 26-27, Oct, 24-25, Nov. 14-15, Dec. 19-20.

COMMUNITY

SAN LORENZO RIVER LAGOON CULVERT PROJECT – VIRTUAL MEETING The city of Santa Cruz Transportation and Public Works Commission is requesting public feedback and questions regarding the San Lorenzo River Lagoon Culvert Project on Monday, Sept. 21, at 6pm. Interested persons are encouraged to attend this virtual meeting and comment on the issues being discussed at zoom.us/j/99054692912, using the meeting ID 990 5469 2912. Project details are posted in English and Spanish at cityofsantacruz.com/culvert. Details for participation are listed at cityofsantacruz.com/TPWC.

DESIGN FOR MITIGATING DISASTER: FREE COMMUNITY PERMACULTURE CALL Santa Cruz Permaculture is offering a free “Open House” call on “Design for Mitigating Disaster” on Tuesday, Sept. 22, from 7-8:30pm on Zoom. Join us for a lecture and discussion in the same format as our upcoming Community Permaculture Calls series. Each call includes a keynote talk on a relevant and seasonal topic. This is followed by a small group conversation for reflection, and a whole group conversation and Q&A. We close the calls with invitations for how you can apply what you’ve learned in your home and community. Join us for this free 1.5 hour call to learn more, engage in discussion, and begin to create a plan for your home, landscape, and neighborhood. If you’d like to participate in the small group conversations, please register on Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcld-GvpzMjH9XR5aVd97ndJh34039zcnhM. This Open House call is also a great chance to learn more about the upcoming call series and get access to discounted pricing for the Oct. 6 – Dec. 8 cohort! Learn more about our Community Permaculture Calls series at santacruzpermaculture.com/communitypermaculture.

IMAGINE Join us for Imagine! our annual premier fundraising event. This year, Imagine! will be a virtual event with a silent live auction broadcast from the CASA house, online bidding, and stories from former foster youth and their CASAs. Sunday, Sept. 20, 2:30-3:30pm. Learn more at casaofsantacruz.org/imagine2020.

VIRTUAL WALK-A-MILE Our annual Walk-a-Mile fundraiser is going virtual this year! The walk will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3, to coincide with the first weekend of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Between now and event day, participants can sign up online individually or as a team, create a personalized web page and outreach to their networks to fund their walk. Through our event site, social media networks and teams, we will raise awareness and build support for the movement to end violence in our community. All funds raised through this year’s Walk-a-Mile event will go toward meeting the immediate needs of survivors (housing support, food, transportation, etc.), violence prevention programming for youth and teens, as well as outreach to those most at-risk of violence during this time. Learn more at monarchwam.funraise.org.

LUMA BOOK CLUB This is a time of seismic shift, and yet also one of opportunity. Luma Yoga is a community center operating on principles of inclusion, compassion, and, yes, reflection, but make no mistake—also of action. The first step in effective action is gaining knowledge. To this end, Luma is hosting a book club on the topic of racism and social justice issues. The reading groups will be held remotely (for now) over Zoom Thursday nights 7-8:15pm. The purpose of the groups is to learn the endless shapes oppression can take in the world, to recognize our own biases within ourselves, and to move from discomfort to action in support of Black and non-white POC. The groups will be facilitated by Steven Macramalla, a professor of psychology at SJSU. The Club will work on a 3- to 4-week cycle, reading one book per cycle, with several chapters covered each week. For more info visit lumayoga.com. Thursdays at 7pm.

TALES TO TAILS GOES VIRTUAL SCPL’s early childhood literacy program, Virtual Tales to Tails, has moved to a new time slot: Mondays, 3:30-4:30pm. At the end of your school day, hop online and have fun reading at your own pace to an audience of therapy dogs, cats and other guest animals. Have math homework? Good news! Your furry audience would also love to learn how to count, add and subtract. Register online. Registrants receive reminders, links to the live program, and fun (educational) activities to complete and have showcased on future sessions Learn more at santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/6764938.

GROUPS

VIRTUAL YOUNG ADULT (18-30) TRANSGENDER SUPPORT GROUP A weekly peer support group for young adults aged 18-25 who identify as transgender, non-binary, genderqueer, agender, or any other non-cisgender identity. This is a social group where we meet and chat among ourselves, sharing our experiences and thoughts in a warm, welcoming setting. Our meetings will be held on Discord during the shelter-in-place order. For more info, contact Ezra Bowen at tr***@*************er.org.

LGBTQNBI+ SUPPORT GROUP FOR CORONAVIRUS STRESS This weekly LGBTQNBI+ support group is being offered to help us all deal with stress during the shelter-in-place situation that we are experiencing from the coronavirus. Feel free to bring your lunch and chat together to get support. This group is offered at no cost and will be facilitated by licensed therapists Shane Hill, Ph.D., and Melissa Bernstein, LMFT #52524. Learn how to join the Zoom support group at diversitycenter.org/community-calendar.

OUTDOOR

SEA OTTER AWARENESS WEEK Virtual Sea Otter Awareness Week is Sept. 20-26. Discover the critical role sea otters play in the nearshore ecosystem during the Seymour Center’s virtual Sea Otter Awareness Week. Special at-home activities, lectures, interviews with scientists, and crafts will highlight sea otters’ natural history, reveal conservation issues facing these marine mammals, and so much more. For more details on Sea Otter Awareness Week events and activities, visit the Seymour Center’s website: seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/learn/family-activities/family-events/#sea-otter-week.

VIRTUAL SCIENCE SUNDAY – SHARING SPACE WITH SEA OTTERS Returning to the California coast from the brink of extinction, sea otters are coming home to a coastline fundamentally altered by the expansion of human activity. Research has largely been focused on the acute threats to sea otter population recovery—oil spills, sharks, and disease—but, recently, more insidious impacts have been studied. Namely, that some of humans’ favorite recreation places and the essential habitat of sea otters overlap in many “hot spots” of disturbance. Please join the Seymour Center and Gena Bentall, director and senior scientist at Sea Otter Savvy, for this special Sea Otter Awareness Week Science Sunday to learn why sea otters matter, why sea otters need protection, and how recreational activities such as kayaking, scuba diving, photography, or walking on the beach can impact them. To register in advance for the online Science Sunday webinar (required), visit: seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/learn/ongoing-education/science-sundays. Virtual Science Sundays are offered at no charge with preregistration. Please consider supporting the Seymour Center by becoming a member or making a donation today at seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/get-involved/join or seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/get-involved/donate/make-a-donation. Sunday, Sept. 20, 1:30-2:30pm.

EVERGREEN AT DUSK: CEMETERY HISTORY TOURS Discover the shadows and secrets found within Evergreen Cemetery, one of the oldest public cemeteries in California, on a self-guided tour of the grounds. Bring your curiosity (and maybe some flashlights) as you explore the final resting place of Santa Cruz’s early settlers. The 45-minute tour is a self-driven adventure uncovering the stories and tombstones of the people who made Santa Cruz what it is today. Designed for daring, curious, and history-loving households, this tour is great for all ages! Registration is limited to one household per tour to ensure plenty of spacing as groups individually explore the cemetery. Each tour should take 30-45 minutes to complete. The time you select is when your group/household tour start; we recommend arriving 5-10 minutes early to ensure you can begin right on time. Dates and times vary. You will be able to select the date and time of your tour when purchasing tickets. Learn more at santacruzmah.org/events.

ANNUAL COASTAL CLEANUP For over a decade, Save Our Shores has regionally hosted Annual Coastal Cleanup in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. This year, to prevent the spread of Covid-19, Save Our Shores will not be hosting cleanups at organized sites on one particular day. Instead, you can conduct your own local cleanup with those you have been sheltering in place with on any Saturday during the month of September. These individual, close-to-home cleanups will protect our oceans beginning at our own front doors. Learn more and find out how to participate by visiting saveourshores.org/coastal-cleanup-2020.

How Downtown Restaurant Chocolate Is Navigating the Pandemic

Andrew Steingrube

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September 16, 2020

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How Downtown Restaurant Chocolate Is Navigating the Pandemic

A longtime fixture in the heart of downtown Santa Cruz, Chocolate is pushing through the pandemic by offering takeout food and serving guests on its lush Pacific Avenue patio until 9pm seven nights a week. Chef and owner David Jackman spoke to GT about the adjustments he’s made over the last few months and the diversity of his menu.

How has outdoor dine-in service on the patio been going?

DAVID JACKMAN: Outdoor dining has been the choice of our customers since we opened over 20 years ago, so we’ve learned to keep our patio heated and protect it from the wind and elements year-round. Even when it’s raining, people love to sit outside. Our job is to make it as comfortable as possible. We have also expanded our outdoor areas that we hadn’t used before, and Bookshop Santa Cruz has donated some of their outdoor space. We have about as many seats outside as inside; we’re operating at about 50% capacity and our revenues are about 50% of what they were pre-pandemic.

What has been the hardest part of doing business during the pandemic?

Confronting the transition from takeout to reopening for dine-in service. It was daunting; all the protocols were difficult. It took us a couple of weeks to figure out how to provide hospitality at a certain distance, but now we’ve gotten used to everything. We can accommodate customers just like we used to. Rather than seeing pushback from customers, we’re experiencing only gratitude.

How would you characterize your menu, and what inspires you most on it?

Our menu is American food celebrating diversity and is a reflection of the many cultures that come together to make up this American experience. I am most inspired by our variety of molés and working with a diversity of chocolate-inspired menu items, both sweet and savory. Right now, we have four different kinds of molés: spicy poblano, Almendrada (a rich Oaxacan style), amarillo, and verde pipián, which we serve with fish. I don’t think you find them commonly. I’ve been to Oaxaca city in Mexico twice in the last four years to learn more about traditional molés.

1522 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. 831-427-9900. chocolatesantacruz.com.

Opinion: Sept. 16, 2020

Steve Palopoli

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September 16, 2020

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EDITOR’S NOTE

The new “Love You Madly—Artists For Santa Cruz Fire Relief” campaign that Wallace Baine writes about in our cover story this week is the kind of homegrown giving effort that exemplifies the best in our community, and we jumped at the chance to be the media partner. As with our annual Santa Cruz Gives campaign, this is locals helping locals in need—and I think we all know how much the victims of the CZU Lightning Complex fire need it. So read about how this ingenious effort came together and why so many fantastic musicians signed on to help. Then check out the songs and messages they’ve recorded, and please give!

There is more in this week’s issue about the fires, including Jacob Pierce’s story about the changes that may be needed to fight wildfires more effectively in the future. We’ve reported on a lot of news around the CZU and other fires over the last month, but what keeps coming up are questions about the science of wildfires. What is dry lightning, anyway? Why do some fires smolder for long periods of time before they erupt into flames? We get asked so many questions like this, and luckily we once again have the eager graduate students in UCSC’s Science Communication Program on hand to answer all of our reader queries: how the fires started, why they’re getting worse, what it takes to control them, their effects on our environment and wildlife. Please submit your questions to me at st***@*******es.sc with the subject line “Fire Question” by Friday, Oct. 16, and we’ll devote a future cover story to the answers.

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

Independent Review Needed

Re: “To Our Santa Cruz Community” (GT, 9/9): To Alderwood management: As an early and enthusiastic booster of Alderwood, I had been hoping for a full and coherent accounting of the dreadful actions two months ago.

Your note to the community is not that accounting; for that reason I will not be returning. At least not yet.

For me, Alderwood was the only place in Santa Cruz where one could sideline one’s everyday jeans and bring out one’s big city clothes and attitude. It offered a genuinely sophisticated bar, intriguing food, and an unconditional welcome for a pretty diverse crowd. It was the place in Santa Cruz; my friends and I were the ones waiting in line at 4:30pm so that we could get a coveted seat at the bar.

Your staff went beyond service. To use NYC restaurateur Danny Meyer’s great phrase: You delivered hospitality. Waiters remembered names; managers smoothed the glitches when the kitchen backed up.

Plus you listened: When we complained that it was too loud for conversation, soundproofing appeared. New, lower-priced menu items were added and Chef Wall even gave in and created a thicker burger.

I hope you’re getting the picture: We liked the combination of food, atmosphere, and sophistication.

So I was shocked when the bulletin exploded on social media: There had been a confrontation at Alderwood complete with angry obscenities, racial slurs and fists. What’s more, it was between an off-duty staffer and a guest and a woman companion. Of course, it was (partially) captured on video. And this being Santa Cruz, seemingly hundreds of people weighed in and social media blew up with the force of a tropical storm.

Two months later, your ads in the Sentinel and Good Times along with an email campaign lay out a stripped-down recitation of the incident coupled with a commitment to diversity, and an explicit request for customers to return.

Let me make clear: Violence is almost never acceptable. Neither do I think the penalty for a bad decision should be a de facto boycott. You are entitled to run your business, within the constraints of regulatory oversight and vigorous, honest competition as you see fit. But what the community saw–in admittedly an incomplete snippet–was a drunken patron and guest taking a swing at your employee, who was then the object of a verbal assault.

Here is my objection to what you have shared and what you are asking. In 2020, you cannot investigate yourself, especially when there is a partial video recording that shows the customer throwing the punches. It’s not sufficient for you to act as prosecutor, judge, and jury. We no longer let police do that.

We don’t allow drug companies to submit trials without peer and FDA review. In pronouncing yourself satisfied at your verdict–that you acted properly in discharging your employee—you’re asking us to accept your finding and to renew our patronage.

I cannot. This dreadful incident calls out for an outside, independent review. You have had two months to come to that obvious conclusion. After an initial statement, your handling of this incident has been a textbook case of radio silence, avoidance, and hope that the controversy will subside. For example: even after you published your ad, it would appear that you are discouraging a dialogue with the community. At this writing, your Facebook page has seemingly been sent to some phantom zone.

We have a wealth of experienced investigators, retired jurists, academics, even fellow business people who could have provided that arms-length examination and analysis. Plus, with business moving in slow-motion because of the pandemic, it’s not too late to conduct a more open probe.

Put it this way: your employee violated your code of conduct and you terminated him. Many of us have come to a parallel conclusion about your conduct. The evidence we have seen is far from exculpatory, and absent an independent review, I will be standing with “those who want to make Santa Cruz a better place.” It just won’t be at Alderwood.

Stephanie Jacobs | Santa Cruz

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

Workers in Boulder Creek as the effort began to restore power earlier this month. Photograph by Robin Gallo.

Submit to ph****@*******es.sc. Include information (location, etc.) and your name. Photos may be cropped. Preferably, photos should be 4 inches by 4 inches and minimum 250dpi.

GOOD IDEA

GOING STRONG

The Santa Cruz Public Libraries system is hosting a monthly discussion series aimed at building community-wide resilience. The next event will be 6pm on Wednesday, Sept. 23, via Zoom. Panelists include history professor Robert Strayer, psychology professor Regina Longhout, medical anthropologist Nancy Chen, and politics professor Matt Sparke Register. Former Mayor Mike Rotkin will moderate. Register to participate at santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/7025394.

GOOD WORK

BIKE MINDS

The local educational program Project Bike Tech announced it is partnering with state and federal officials to develop a bicycle repair apprenticeship program. It will pay wages to  apprentices, who will receive  a  certificate  of  completion issued  by  the  California  Department  of Apprenticeship. Santa Cruz schools will be the first to offer the Bicycle Repair Technician apprenticeship, which will provide 288 hours of classroom instruction and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training to program participants.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Each of us as human beings has a responsibility to reach out to help our brothers and sisters affected by disasters. One day it may be us or our loved ones needing someone to reach out and help.”
-Michael W. Hawkins

Local and National Musicians Step Up for Fire Relief Campaign

Wallace Baine

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September 15, 2020

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Local and National Musicians Step Up for Fire Relief Campaign

In the month since the devastating fires that consumed much of northern Santa Cruz County began, there have been a dozen or more catastrophes, outrages, disasters, and other headline-grabbing plot twists from the continually calamitous year 2020. The world’s gaze, so fixed on Santa Cruz in the early days of the fires, has moved on.

But for the hundreds of residents displaced from Bonny Doon and the San Lorenzo Valley who’ve seen their homes destroyed and their neighborhoods obliterated, the tragedy is only beginning. What they will continue to need in the weeks and months ahead is a resource that is necessarily finite: attention.

An ever-growing roster of musicians and artists is prepared to give it to them, with an ambitious fundraising effort called “Love You Madly—Artists For Santa Cruz Fire Relief.”

The campaign was established to bring much needed financial support to those affected by the fires as they rebuild their lives and their communities, through the already active Fire Response Fund managed and directed by Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. The idea is to create a series of short videos—songs and messages from local, regional, and national recording artists—to inspire donations.

But the campaign is designed to be the gift that keeps on giving. Instead of one enormous, heavy-lift benefit concert to take place on one specific date, “Love You Madly” will release a handful of individual videos from sheltering-in-place musicians every week, keeping the attention on the fire victims’ needs as the long process of rebuilding unfolds.

“It comes at a really important time, as all these other fires start and people’s attention shifts away from the immediacy of our fires,” says Community Foundation CEO Susan True. “That’s really when the hard work, and the most expensive work, begins.”

“Madly” debuts this week, with the release of seven music videos created expressly for the fire-relief effort. They come from Santa Cruz natives Taylor Rae, James Durbin, Lindsey Wall and Alwa Gordon. Also included in the mix is ukulele man (and former Santa Cruzan) Oliver Cashman-Brown, former X frontman and singer/songwriter John Doe, and reigning rock guitar god Joe Satriani. Confirmed for future weeks are contributions from nationally and regionally prominent names such as Los Lobos, Jason Crosby, and String Cheese Incident, as well as locally beloved artists like Keith Greeninger, Mira Goto, the Coffis Brothers, Tess Dunn, and many more.

The first week’s release will also include fire-related photography from long-time Sentinel photographer Shmuel Thaler and original poster art from Bay Area drummer/artist Prairie Prince.

“My hope is that once people see these videos, we’re going to see more people wanting to contribute across the board,” says the campaign’s producer Jon Luini. “Anyone who is a local artist is going to get really encouraged and excited to see the submissions we already have and be moved to want to contribute something. And I’m also hoping some of the national artists are going to see this collection and go, ‘Yeah, I wasn’t sure, but I’m going to do this because I’m really amped up by what I saw.’”

“Love You Madly” marks the convergence of two separately conceived ideas. Luini is part of digital-music history as the co-founder of the pioneering Internet Underground Music Archive in Santa Cruz, and he has run his digital music and technology business Chime Interactive since 1998. Soon after the scope of the damage from the fires became clear, Luini went to work contacting some of his high-profile contacts, including Satriani and Los Lobos, and developing a master list of artists who might contribute down the line.

Meanwhile, Matthew Swinnerton of Event Santa Cruz was on the same wavelength, looking to the roster of local artists that he has cultivated and worked with to put together some kind of online concert to raise money for fire relief. Both producers called True at the Community Foundation, who suggested they combine forces.

Of the idea to make the campaign a weekly roll-out with an indefinite end, Swinnerton says, “That was Jon’s idea. That was all him. I had a completely different idea, and then when I heard his, I thought, ‘Man, that’s better.’”

“I just started working on a master list,” says Luini. “Thinking about everybody I know, booking agencies, management companies, listing agents. Who do I know who might have a connection to this artist or that artist, and direct outreach as well.”

Even as the first “Madly” videos are released, the outreach efforts are ongoing and, according to some of the names on the master list, Luini is reaching for the stars.

“We’ll definitely do it for at least a couple of months, as long as we can maintain it and we have enough content,” Luini says. “My hope is that we’ll go for six months, and even then, if we’re able to keep going, we’ll keep going.”

The videos released this week are simple and elegant in execution, featuring artists performing a song, often dedicated to Santa Cruz, preceded by a short message and appeal to donate. Satriani—born on the day Jimi Hendrix died—is one of the world’s most inventive and arresting rock guitarists. His contribution is a bewitching and furiously face-melting instrumental called “Passion Caprice Number 1.” John Doe, who has performed locally countless times over the years, both with X and The Knitters, and as a solo act, communicates his feelings for Santa Cruz with a version of his song “Don’t Forget How Much I Love You.”

Others are even more overt in their feelings for Santa Cruz. Oliver Cashman-Brown, who moved to Santa Cruz in 1994, says “Santa Cruz changed my life forever. It sets in your bones and becomes part of you,” to introduce what he calls a love song to Santa Cruz.

One of the most personal and immediate contributions comes from local native James Durbin, whose career was launched nearly a decade ago with his appearance on Fox’s “American Idol.” His ode to his hometown, titled “Santa Cruz,” name-checks the beloved touchstones of his upbringing, from the annual, now-defunct First Night celebrations to the performing arts nonprofit the 418 Project to “Rio Del Mar every Fourth of July.” The song is a heartfelt tribute from the perspective of someone drifting from town to town, always remembering the town where he feels most at home. The song’s chorus nails the point home: “No one loves me like you do.”

In the first “Love You Madly” releases, the younger Santa Cruz-based artists are working to articulate their connection to their hometown. Alwa Gordon, 31, is a born-and-raised rapper/singer who presents a stirring performance of his song “On My Way.”

“It’s relatively new and something that I wrote in the last year,” says Gordon of “On My Way.” “It’s a song about perseverance, about just being humbled in life, but also about being on your way to something.”

He says that the song was inspired by his experiences growing up and struggling with poverty, yet maintaining a faith in his future. “I’m trying to be as honest and vulnerable as possible, to tell my story.”

Singer/songwriter Taylor Rae grew up in Ben Lomond, but moved to Austin, Texas to pursue a singing career about a year before the Covid-19 shutdown. She was in Austin when she heard the news that much of her beloved San Lorenzo Valley was on fire.

“It was heartbreaking,” she says. “I felt helpless.” Rae’s contribution to “Love You Madly” is a song she wrote while house sitting for a friend in Felton years ago, titled “Morning Fade.” “It’s about those couple of moments right when you wake up in the morning where everything feels OK, until your brain starts to wander into all of the issues you may be going through at the time. It’s about that moment when everything feels at peace.”

Rae, 26, says she has several friends who’ve lost their homes, and the crisis has made her reflect on the unique nature of the San Lorenzo Valley, where she grew up alongside other notable local musicians such as Henry Chadwick, the Coffis Brothers, and Jesse Daniel—all of whom are expected to contribute videos to the “Madly” project in the coming weeks.

“There’s a spirit in the Valley that’s pretty special,” she says. “People see the world through a more magical lens, because of the landscape around us, and the fact that we get to live in the middle of all that beauty. Growing up in that atmosphere, it just opens up your imagination so much more. [As a kid], my imagination was free to run wild, and that’s contributed to how I write songs.”

Singer/songwriter Lindsey Wall, another contributor in the first week’s release, grew up in Bonny Doon. Though her family home was sold a couple of years ago, it was destroyed in the fires, as were many of the homes of families that were part of her childhood.

“All of that land that was burned was where I grew up,” she says. “I had been evacuated several times growing up, and we had a close call one time with the Martin Fire [in 2008]. But we never experienced anything like this.”

Wall’s song for the “Madly” campaign, titled “Undertow,” strikes an introspective tone. It was inspired by the coast north of town, closer to Bonny Doon. She echoes Rae in making the case that the mountain communities are of a different character than the more urban and suburban coastal communities.

“It’s another world up there,” she says. “Growing up in the mountains is so different than growing up in town. I really feel like it shaped me. That’s where I first was inspired to write music. I owe so much of who I am to that house, to that land.”

The Community Foundation’s Susan True says that the foundation’s fire relief fund has already distributed more than $300,000 to local nonprofits helping people in the immediate area.

“Community members, even people across the country, have been so responsive,” she says. “We’re getting stories on the notes on the credit-card payment—‘I used to visit my grandfather in Ben Lomond every summer and it’s so special to me’ or ‘My sister got married in the Santa Cruz Mountains,’ or ‘The best concert I ever saw was at Highland Park.’”

True says that however heartening the response has been so far, “Madly” is a crucial element to keep the interest in donating as high as it’s been in the early weeks. “What we’ve learned from our counterparts in Napa and Sonoma and Ventura and other counties that have been hit hard is that the short-term needs tend to account for about 20% of all the funds you’re going to need. Long-term needs means rebuilding, mental health support. There’s so many costs that come later.”

Jon Luini thinks that musicians and artists are well-positioned to provide that kind of long-term support. “The thing that art can do—and always has done in times of trouble—is to lift people’s spirits, to not only give them hope, but to give them energy to face what they have to face. If we can get somebody, for example, who is a Los Lobos fan and who has to face the task of rebuilding, to see Louie (Perez of Los Lobos) speaking directly to them, ‘We know what you’re going through, our hearts are with you, and here’s something to lift you.’ That has a value you can’t really put a number on.”

For more information on the “Love You Madly—Artists for Santa Cruz Fire Relief” campaign, to watch the latest videos, or to contribute to fire relief efforts, go to santacruzfirerelief.org.

Who Are the Boogaloo Bois, and What Do They Want?

Todd Guild

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September 15, 2020

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Who Are the Boogaloo Bois, and What Do They Want?

When Air Force sergeant Steven Carrillo shot and killed Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller and injured three other law enforcement officials in a short but violent June crime spree, it thrust the Boogaloo Boi group in which he claimed membership into the national spotlight. Carrillo, who used a homemade weapon, faces additional charges for gunning down a federal officer in Oakland.

In the weeks that followed, police also arrested Carrillo’s alleged accomplice in the Oakland shooting, another man with ties to Boogaloo.

Then, on Aug. 27, Gilroy resident Alan Viarengo was arrested for allegedly sending 24 anonymous threatening letters to Santa Clara County Health Officer Sara Cody. Investigators serving a search warrant at his home found 138 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition and explosive materials.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office also received threatening letters, as did Gutzwiller’s family, and the Santa Cruz sheriff’s deputies are investigating whether those letters have any connection to Viarengo, who worked for Nordic Naturals, a Watsonville-based nutritional supplement company, and had his own ties to Boogaloo.

Despite the high-profile Boogaloo Boi cases, there’s no evidence that the movement has a particular foothold in the region, although law enforcement and civil rights experts are still learning about the underground group.

Origins of the Boogaloo name trace back to 1960s New York City, where a man named Joe Cuba invented a Latin-American dance by the same name. Then came a 1984 movie titled Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, a poorly reviewed B-movie about evil developers trying to demolish an urban recreation center and the plucky dancers who try to stop them.

The film was largely forgettable in the cinematic world, save for an endearingly amateurish rap song from a young Ice-T, but the “Boogaloo” term took on new meaning when loosely knit groups of anti-government activists adopted it.

Anti-government activists began sharing memes playing on the film’s title, with variations like “Civil War 2: Electric Boogaloo,” according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

The ADL states that Boogaloo members built their movement around preparing for that supposed civil war that they believe will lead to the collapse of the U.S. government and society.

ON THE FRINGE

The Boogaloo group is not mainstream or even particularly well understood, says ADL Regional Director Seth Brysk.

“It still is very much a fringe group,” he says, “not something where we have any particular imminent threats, none that we’re aware of or that are being reported about.”

The FBI declined to comment directly for this story, but instead emailed a prepared response that the term “Boogaloo” does not refer to a single cohesive group.

“It is a loose concept discussed on internet platforms, which has become a rallying point for a variety of actors motivated by several different ideologies,” the statement reads. The bureau adds that its concern is not about ideology, but whether a person is engaged in violence.

The Covid-19 pandemic may be fueling more interest in the group. Brysk explains that members associated with Boogaloo have increasingly made appearances at public demonstrations, many of them expressing frustration with restrictions in response to the pandemic.

Some, Brysk says, are hoping to stoke racial tension as a catalyst for what they believe is a coming civil war. Others, he adds, claim not to be racist but say they are merely protesting what they frame as government overreach.

The Boogaloo movement also sometimes uses similar-sounding words such as “big igloo”—hence the igloo images sometimes connected to it—and “big luau,” which is why many members wear Hawaiian print shirts. (One symbol for the group is a modified black-and-white American flag with Hawaiian-print stripe and an igloo on it.)

In addition, some members have used hashtags such as #CNN and terms like “CNN Bois,” Brysk says. These terms are both a way to identify themselves to other members and to hide their activities from those who aren’t in the know, he says.

Because it isn’t a membership organization and it has no leadership structure, it’s difficult to determine the prevalence of the movement, Brysk says.

Brysk says law enforcement should pay attention to the activities of the Boogaloo movement, even when they are engaged in Constitutionally protected activities such as demonstrations.

“It’s not a bad idea to make law enforcement aware, because sometimes it can be a harbinger and sometimes it can help to establish a pattern, or be helpful in terms of a future investigation,” Brysk said.

Spokespeople from the Santa Cruz and Watsonville Police departments and from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office all had similar statements: Yes, we’re aware of the group, but no, we’re not concerned that there’s any imminent threat from the Boogaloo movement.

“We do pay attention to various hate groups in the city and in the county,” SCPD spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke said.

BOOGALOO SPEAKS

Boogaloo members claim that their community is peaceful and not a hate group.

Duncan Lent, who goes by “Boogalooboi” on social media, lives in the Appalachian region. He estimates that between 500,000-1,000,000 people around the U.S. identify with the movement, with members communicating largely through social media. But with platforms clamping down on language associated with Boogaloo, many are turning to local, in-person networking, he says.

Lent says he doesn’t believe Carrillo speaks for the movement, adding that the group pretty much “excommunicated” Carrillo after he was arrested for murder. (Carrillo allegedly wrote “boog” in his own blood after his crime spree—an apparent reference to the movement. He also had at least one Boogaloo patch and met his accomplice Robert Justus through the movement.)

Guns are central to the Boogaloo group’s ideology, though.

Lent says he began to identify with the term “Boogaloo” years ago while working in a gun shop, and he saw lawmakers pass laws that he viewed as onerous. This includes legislation governing barrel length and a law banning bump-stocks, which came in the wake of the October 2017 shooting in Las Vegas where a gunman killed 59 people and wounded more than 500. Bump stocks replace the stock on a rifle, which allows the recoil to “bump” the rifle back and forth against the trigger finger, making rapid fire easier. “The point of the Boogaloo movement is for us and generations moving forward to maintain the freedoms that this country was founded with,” Lent says.

In June, Facebook removed 220 Facebook accounts, 106 Facebook groups, 95 Instagram accounts and 28 Facebook pages associated with the Boogaloo movement, for fear they were planning violent attacks.

Brysk, of the ADL, says some companies have been more proactive than others when it comes to enforcing violations.

“What we do find is that extremist groups like this have found it easier to spread their messaging in the age of social media,” Brysk says, “and there are some social media platforms that have done a better job of eliminating those that violate their terms.”

Do Santa Cruz County’s Fire Districts Need Big Changes?

Jacob Pierce

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September 15, 2020

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Do Santa Cruz County’s Fire Districts Need Big Changes?

Residents of Bonny Doon and Boulder Creek have begun moving back to the area threatened by the CZU Lighting Complex fire, which is 91% contained as of Tuesday morning after burning 86,509 acres. Residents are grappling with questions about water supply, water quality, road repairs and so much more as they try to get on with their lives.

But as the smoke continues to clear in the Santa Cruz Mountains, they are asking another question: How did this happen?

Ian Kapostins, a resident of Last Chance, remembers seeing the sky suddenly catch fire on the night of Aug. 18, as a thick, gusting, ember-filled wind blew through his backroad neighborhood. Kapostins rushed his wife out of a shower, and they gathered up the cats, got in the car and floored it down Last Chance Road as flames engulfed their neighborhood. Although fires had been burning for a few days, Kapostins and his neighbors never got an evacuation warning.

Media reports have since detailed the harrowing experience of the Kapostins’ neighbors—the death of longtime resident Tad Jones, the horror of spending the night in an open meadow while flames closed in, and hiding out in a pond with a pipe for a snorkel. It all happened hours after Last Chance residents were repeatedly assured they’d be safe.

Kapostins’ home was one of more than 900 to burn in the fire. He says he has no beef with Cal Fire, which he knows was stretched thin due to historic wildfires blazing throughout the state. But as he shifts gears to think about rebuilding, he just wants to make sure it doesn’t all happen again.

“We do see that something fell apart,” Kapostins says. “We’re totally supportive of what they do, but we want to help them do it better.”

ASH PROMISED

In the years ahead, there will be a report looking into what happened in the CZU Lightning Complex fire. There will also be a close look at how best to structure fire services in the county.

The Land Agency Formation Commission of Santa Cruz County (LAFCO) was already planning to spend the next year working on a review of fire services in the county. Then came a scathing report earlier this summer from the Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury detailing systemic issues among the county’s 10 fire districts. Among its concerns, the Grand Jury argued that the current setup creates a confusing web of bureaucracy that provides little accountability. That prompted a recent response from LAFCO and cast a spotlight on the agency’s coming analysis.

As an example of what will be on the table, LAFCO staff could recommend the consolidation of different agencies—if they determine that such changes would be more efficient, more sustainable or safer.

Because so many of the fire safety issues outlined by the Grand Jury are organizational, it is too early to say whether the bulk of them made the CZU fire any worse. But the crisis has shone light on this pivotal moment between a major Grand Jury report and the anticipated analysis.

Local LAFCO Executive Officer Joe Serrano was working at the San Diego branch of LAFCO after fires terrorized southern California in 2008, and he saw firsthand how the agency played a leading role in reorganizing fire services in San Diego County.

He says Santa Cruz County’s LAFCO could play a similar role locally as the community works on how to move on. That’s why Serrano looks forward to digging more deeply into the Grand Jury’s findings.

“They raised good questions, so I really want to continue that analysis,” he says. “After these fires extinguish, we’re going to see what went well and what didn’t. What were the lessons, and how can we prevent this from happening again or minimize those effects?”

DISTRICT PROTOCOL

When it comes to merging two or more special districts, Santa Cruz County Supervisor John Leopold, a longtime LAFCO commissioner, says it takes lots of hard work and years of collaboration.

LAFCO played a role in the Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District’s merger with Central Fire—which LAFCO is expected to approve next month—as well as the merger of the Lompico Water District with the San Lorenzo Valley’s. The Grand Jury was also involved in both of those. In many instances, however, Leopold says that Grand Jury and LAFCO recommendations go unheeded.

Individual special districts, like water districts and fire districts, meet the needs of the customers in various ways, and there are always lots of details to work out, he says, to see the process through. One of those hurdles can be that a community will often root its sense of identity in its small-town water district or fire protection district—even when that value appears largely symbolic.

“Fear of losing that identity is one of the factors that can complicate the logistics of mergers,” Leopold says.

Fellow LAFCO commissioner Jim Anderson, who serves on the Felton Fire Protection District’s Board of Directors, said at a Sept. 2 LAFCO meeting that he has a certain fondness for the San Lorenzo Valley’s fire departments, all of which are volunteer-run. Still, he thinks it’s important to leave the door open for changes, including the possibility of a consolidated system of stations, staffed by paid firefighters.

Serrano says the whole process is just getting started, and there’s no telling where it will lead.

“These reports plant a seed of an idea,” he says. “An opportunity.”

Film Review: ‘Personal History of David Copperfield’

Lisa Jensen

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September 15, 2020

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Film Review: ‘Personal History of David Copperfield’

Anglo-Indian actor Dev Patel may not be the most obvious choice to play David Copperfield, one of Charles Dickens’ most beloved and most autobiographical heroes. But casting the popular Patel is but one of many inspired and audacious choices made by Armando Iannucci in his smart and highly entertaining adaptation The Personal History of David Copperfield.

Director Iannucci and his co-scenarist and frequent writing partner Simon Blackwell are best-known for sly political satires The Death of Stalin and TV’s Veep, created by Iannucci. In their hands, Dickens’ classic coming-of-age tale gets an energizing makeover that is absolutely true to this spirit of the novel. While unapologetically diverse in its casting, it never feels unduly PC, and is often brilliant in the originality of its storytelling.

The movie is framed as a theatrical recitation by acclaimed author Copperfield (a nod to the kinds of public readings Dickens himself staged for his rapt admirers throughout his career). As he narrates his life story, beginning with his birth, it unfolds onscreen, with the adult David popping up in the shot with commentary—one of the movie’s many charmingly surreal touches.

David’s idyllic childhood with his loving young widowed mother ends abruptly when she marries grim Murdstone, who arrives with his equally sour sister (an unrecognizable Gwendoline Christie). The spirited child David (Jairaj Varsani) is banished to London to work in a grimy factory. He’s a teenager (now played by Patel) when he learns his mother has died, and walks all the way to Dover to throw himself on the mercy of his only relative, the formidable Aunt Betsey Trotwood (a delightful Tilda Swinton).

Peter Capaldi is droll and wistfully philosophical as the impecunious Micawber, and Hugh Laurie is wonderful as the mostly befuddled but sometimes gently insightful Mr. Dick, Aunt Betsey’s distant relation. He and David share a love of writing things down, giving the filmmakers ample opportunity to weave Dickens’ delicious prose into the fabric of the movie. Ben Whishaw is unctuously oozy as conniving Uriah Heep, although there’s not enough time to convey the full menace of his crimes. Aneurin Barnard’s impressively grand Steerforth seems more of a poseur than genuinely charismatic; David’s attachment to him never quite feels earned.

Meanwhile, the narrative strides boldly forward through Dickens’ busy plot, hitting most of its emotional and comic high notes. Quick and clever editing keeps the pictures moving with smooth dissolves and ingenious expositions. When David falls instantly in love with porcelain, childlike Dora (Morfydd Clark), daughter of the lawyer who employs him, he sees her face painted on a pub sign in the street, and her blonde curls adorning a passing cart driver. To keep the narrative moving, the filmmakers even have the nerve to write out a key character, at her request. (“I really don’t fit in.”) I doubt if Dickens would approve, but it’s a smart way to keep the movie’s tone consistent and focused.

This David Cooperfield looks terrific, from teeming London streets to the countryside to the seaside. Motherly Peggotty (Daisy May Cooper), David’s former nurse, lives with her family under the upturned hull of a boat on the beach at Yarmouth. (A magical place vividly realized by production designer Cristina Casali.) In addition to the Micawbers, Aunt Betsey and Mr. Dick, David’s surrogate family includes his aunt’s tippling but well-meaning solicitor Whitfield (Benedict Wong) and his daughter Agnes (played with good-humored warmth by Rosalind Eleazar).

Patel plays David with the right balance of open-hearted exuberance and dawning maturity. The non-traditional casting also highlights the story’s core question of identity. David earns many nicknames on his journey through life—Davy, Trot, Daisy, Doady—which are more expressions of who others need him to be than who he actually is. It’s a nifty little victory when David finally discards his nicknames to proclaim himself simply David Copperfield— the hero (at last) of his own life.

THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD

(****)

With Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton, Peter Capaldi, Hugh Laurie, Rosalind Eleazar, and Jairaj Varsani. Written by Simon Blackwell and Armando Iannucci. From the novel by Charles Dickens. Directed by Armando Iannucci. A Searchlight release. Rated PG. 119 minutes.

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology: Sept. 16-22

Rob Brezsny

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September 15, 2020

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Free will astrology for the week of Sept. 16

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In one of your past lives, maybe you were a Neanderthal midwife in what’s now southern France. In another incarnation, you may have been a 17th-century Guarani shaman who shared your knowledge about local plants with an Italian Jesuit missionary in what’s now Uruguay. All the powers and aptitudes you perfected in those and other previous ages could prove helpful as you cultivate your genius in the coming weeks. Just kidding! Cancel my previous speculations. For you Aries folks, past achievements are often of secondary importance as you create your future. In fact, your mandate is usually to transcend the old days and old ways. It may be better not to imitate or rely on old stories, no matter how dazzling. This will be especially true in the coming weeks.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “There are no ordinary feelings,” says poet Dean Young. “Just as there are no ordinary spring days or kicked over cans of paint.” That’s always true, but it will be especially true for you in the coming weeks. I suspect you will be host to a wealth of interesting, unique and profound feelings. They might be a bit overwhelming at times, but I think they will mostly provide rich opportunities for your soul to grow deeper and stronger and more resilient.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “There should be a science of discontent,” said novelist Frank Herbert. “People need hard times and oppression to develop psychic muscles.” I partially agree with that observation, but I also think it’s a gratuitous cliché that’s not at all absolute. In fact, our culture is under the spell of a mass delusion that tempts us to believe “no pain, no gain” is the supreme learning principle. I’d like to see the development of a robust science of contentment: how fascination and freedom and generosity can build psychic muscles. You’ll be a good candidate to study that subject in the coming weeks.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian songwriter Mathangi Arulpragasam is better known by her stage name M.I.A. She has accomplished a lot in her 45 years on the planet, having been nominated for three Grammy Awards and an Academy Award. Esquire magazine named her the 75th most influential person of the 21st century. One key to her success is the fact that she formulated a clear master plan many years ago and has used it to guide her decisions. In her song “Matangi,” she refers to it: “If you’re gonna be me, you need a manifesto / If you ain’t got one, you better get one presto.” I bring this to your attention, Cancerian, because the coming weeks will be an excellent time to formulate (or reformulate) your life manifesto and master plan.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “If you’re not invited to the party, throw your own,” declares singer and actress Diahann Carroll. In the coming weeks, I urge you Leos to use that advice as a metaphor in every way you can imagine. For example, if you’re not getting the love you want from a certain someone, give it to yourself. If no one hands you the opportunity you need, hand it to yourself. If you wish people would tell you what you want to hear, but they’re not saying it, tell yourself what you want to hear. It’s a time when you need to go beyond mere self-sufficiency. Be self-gratifying, self-rewarding, self-acknowledging.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “At the necessary moment, going naked will be your most convincing disguise,” writes poet Dobby Gibson. As I apply his witty statement to your life, I’ll interpret it metaphorically. My sense is that you could really use the kind of “disguise” he’s talking about. What I mean is that you would benefit by appearing to be different from what people expect of you. You can gain key advantages by shifting the image you present to the world—by expressing a part of your identity that is not usually obvious. And I think the best way to do that is to “go naked”—i.e. be candid and transparent and vulnerable about your core truths.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran playwright Wendy Wasserstein wrote, “Every year I resolve to be a little less the me I know and leave a little room for the me I could be. Every year I make a note not to feel left behind by my friends and family who have managed to change far more than I.” I recommend Wasserstein’s practice to you, dear Libra. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to launch this ritual as an annual tradition. For best results, write it out as a vow. I mean take a pen and paper and compose a solemn pledge, then sign it on the bottom to seal your determination.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “I may not lead the most dramatic life,” confesses singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, “but in my brain it’s War and Peace every day.” He was referencing Leo Tolstoy’s sprawling, exuberant 1,200-page novel War and Peace, which features stories about five families who lived through Napoléon’s invasion of Russia in the 19th century. I’m guessing that these days your fantasy life may also be filled with epic fairy tales and heroic sagas and tear-jerking myths. Is there a problem with that? Not necessarily. It could be quite entertaining and educational. I do recommend that you keep your actual life a little calmer and saner, however.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “I rejoice to live in such a splendidly disturbing time!” said author Helen Keller (1880–1968). She was a smart activist who worked hard on behalf of women’s equality, labor rights, antimilitarism and socialism. Was she being sarcastic in saying she loved being alive during a time of upheaval? Not at all. She derived excitement and vigor from critiquing injustice. Her lust for life soared as she lent her considerable energy to making life on earth more enjoyable for more people. I invite you to consider adopting her attitude in the coming weeks. It’s a good time to experiment with generating the personal power that becomes available by taking practical action in behalf of your high ideals.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You know what perfectionists are: people who obsessively strive to finesse every last detail, polishing and honing so compulsively that they risk sucking all the soul out of the finished product. In contrast to them, I propose that we identify a different class of humans known as imperfectionists. They understand that a ferocious drive for utter purity can make things sterile and ugly. They resolve to cultivate excellence while at the same time they understand that irregularities and eccentricities may infuse their work with beauty. I hope you’ll act like an imperfectionist in the coming weeks, Capricorn.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Everything good I’ve ever gotten in life, I only got because I gave something else up,” writes author Elizabeth Gilbert. To that melodramatic declaration, I say, “Really? Everything? I don’t believe you.” And yet I do think she has a point. On some occasions, the most effective strategy for bringing good new influences into our lives is to sacrifice an influence or habit or pattern we’re attached to. And often the thing that needs to be sacrificed is comfortable or consoling or mildly pleasurable. I suspect that the coming weeks will offer you one of these opportunities, Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “I and me are always too deeply in conversation,” confessed philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. I wonder why he said “too deeply” and not just “deeply.” Did he mean his dialogs with himself distracted him from important matters in the world outside of his imagination? Was he implying that he got so consumed while conducting his self-interviews that he lost his bearings and forgot what his goals were? With these cautions in mind, Pisces, I invite you to dive into an intense but spacious communion with yourself. Make this a delightful and illuminating conference, not a raging debate or a debilitating argument.

Homework: What’s your favorite rule to break? freewillastrology.com.

Learning to Love Dessert Again Thanks to Vim Dining and Desserts

Christina Waters

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September 15, 2020

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Learning to Love Dessert Again Thanks to Vim Dining and Desserts

I always appreciated the dining side of Vim Dining and Desserts. But last week I fell in love with the dessert side of this busy little Westside restaurant. Now with its patio dining in full swing, plus indoor tables hosting happy diners, Vim is cooking full steam—enough so that it served us a terrific little take-home dinner with a memorable dessert.

Let me start at the top. Chef Jesikah Stolaroff likes to make things look as good as they taste, even when neatly packed into surprisingly well-insulated carryout containers. When I got home with our dinner items, they were still hot and easy to unpack and dish out in a reasonably appetizing manner.

With dinner we opened a bottle of 2015 Tempranillo Pierce Ranch from winemaker Jeff Emery’s Quinta Cruz label ($19.99 at Shopper’s Corner). Candles were lit as I organized our plates. We YouTubed some mellow Paris jazz to go with an order of Moroccan spiced pork tenderloin ($27). Sliced into four generous portions, the rare pork had been glazed with harissa-infused pluot jam and arrived on a soft cushion of mashed butter beans. The glaze and beans were tossed with a dice of rich cured pork guanciale that heightened the spicing of red peppers, coriander, and a hint of cumin—it even might have been even more aggressively spiced for my taste. On the side were braised stems of broccolini. Perfection with the berry and bay leaf tones of the wine.

Another entree—also a very generous portion—was a triumph of sophisticated comfort food. A caprese of chicken breast, juicy and tender, arrived topped with basil, onion tomato jam, and mozzarella, on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes and sided by delicious green beans (both entrees $27). Big flavors, big satisfaction. Each dish was terrific, but the caprese alone would have justified the visit to Vim. It looked colorful and preserved the best attitudes of old school Italian-American cooking. Again, the Tempranillo made a great partner. Both dishes were easy to serve, nothing tiny and precious to slide around in the carryout containers or to mess up while serving.

Full disclosure: I do not fantasize about desserts. Give me a cheese plate any day. But. Opening a container of multi-layered tiramisu—yes, I said tiramisu—I found myself surrendering. Huge fresh raspberries adorned this classic creation of mascarpone, soft tea-soaked sponge cake, and unsweetened cocoa powder ($12). Here was a barely sweet adult creation that looked like a child’s birthday party on New Year’s Eve. My companion pronounced the tiramisu the ideal conclusion to our flavor-intensive dinner as he slid his fork through all the layers into the fragrant, moist cake at the bottom.

Remember when no restaurant dared offer a dessert menu without tiramisu? It was everywhere, and at some point I must have eaten my fill because I know I hadn’t tasted it in many years. How nice, given its former cliché status that Vim’s version was given real respect. The tiramisu was dreamy, elegant, and frankly perfect. I saved enough to consume with a cup of strong black tea the next day for lunch. It was my entire lunch. Guilty pleasure? You bet.

2238 Mission St., Santa Cruz. Wednesday-Saturday, 5-8pm; Sunday, 10am-1pm. vimsantacruz.com.

Good News Department

Even in the midst of harvest, Alfaro Family Vineyards is open on Saturdays for weekend outdoor by-the-glass tasting, noon to 5pm. Call 831-728-5172 for your reservation.

Watsonville’s Kabwasa to Release Debut Full-Length Album

A&E
Music

Johanna Miller

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September 14, 2020

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Watsonville’s Kabwasa to Release Debut Full-Length Album

Watsonville singer-songwriter Kabwasa will celebrate a major milestone in his career on Sept. 16 by releasing his first full-length studio album, “Maiden Flight.”

Born Etienne Kabwasa Green, Kabwasa now lives in Los Angeles, where he made waves in the hip-hop scene even before graduating from the University of Southern California in April. But his music continually harkens back to his hometown—his EP, re-released earlier this year, was simply titled “Watsonville.”

“I’m just really excited to give something to people in Watsonville,” he said. “People reach out to me, saying they didn’t think someone from their hometown could reach success like this, and I think that motivates them. That’s the most important thing to me. To inspire Watsonville artists to pursue their passions.”

Kabwasa’s lyrics often hit on important social issues, especially those he recognized growing up in the Pajaro Valley, but also more lighthearted fare such as “Boardwalk,” a track recently remixed and promoted by the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

“Maiden Flight” will be his first full-length album. The album, he says, tells the story of his journey as an artist, from when he first started to present day.

“Each song is a different step mentally, emotionally, artistically, of what I’ve been through so far,” he said. “It’s not just a compilation of singles. I wanted to make sure it meant something. Like if I left one song out, it would feel incomplete.”

Kabwasa’s music is a mixture of R&B and hip-hop, with “old school sounds” and elements of jazz, soul and funk. “Maiden Flight” features a number of guest collaborators, including Clarence the Kid, Club Yokai, Moskito Sounds and Watsonville’s own Saucy Beats.

Staying creative during the Covid-19 pandemic has been a challenge, but Kabwasa says he has noticed how important art has become to people during the crisis.

“It has brought art to the forefront,” he said, “and shown that it’s one of the most powerful things we have.”

Kabwasa has also been inspired by the ongoing resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, releasing a track called “Black Movement” and spearheading a large protest at USC in June that drew about 1,000 students, community members and faculty.

“I want to use the small platform I had … to use my little bit of influence,” he said. “For my fellow African-Americans, for the LGBTQ community, for all of my brothers and sisters … to give them a chance to be heard.”

Kabwasa says he’s excited for “Maiden Flight” to be released, and eager to hear what people think.

“I love when people reach out to me … especially when they’re from Watsonville,” he said. “I love connecting with people and encouraging them in any way I can. That’s what I hope my music can do.”

“Maiden Flight” will be available on Sept. 16 on all streaming platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon and Soundcloud. Follow Kabwasa on social media @musicbykabwasa and on YouTube

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